Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during a summit of leaders of member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Moscow, Russia, October 8, 2024.
Sergey Ilnitsky | Via Reuters
The Kremlin said Thursday that it is closely monitoring President-elect Donald Trump's continued efforts to reach Greenland.
Earlier this week, Trump said that he did not rule out the use of military force to seize the strategically important island in the Arctic, which is an autonomous region of Denmark, saying that this was in the economic and national interest of the United States.
Trump's comments received some support among pro-Kremlin figures in Russia, including a number close to President Vladimir Putin. They say that any US move to claim Greenland would legitimize Russia's expansionist goals And ambitions to return former Soviet territories, such as the Baltic states, to their sphere of influence and power.
European leaders have done so to caution President-elect Trump opposes seizing Greenland, saying such a move would violate international borders, while Denmark and Greenland have stated that the island, where a US military base is located, is “not for sale.”
In the Kremlin's first public comments on the issue, Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Russia was closely monitoring the situation.
Peskov told reporters on Thursday, according to his statements, that “such allegations may relate to bilateral relations between the United States and Denmark.” As reported by the Russian news agency TASS Translated by Google.
“We are closely monitoring this dramatic development of the situation, but so far, thank God, (the situation is still) at the data level,” Peskov said.
